SecAF Approves Captain's Board Cancellation

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Air Force NewsBy Capt. Candice Ismirle

WASHINGTON -- First lieutenants will no longer meet a promotion central selection board to make captain, Air Force officials announced May 7.
Effective immediately, the Secretary of the Air Force approved the elimination of the Captain's Central Selection Board.
The Air Force is returning to the same promotion process that was in effect prior to July 2011. First lieutenants will now be informed by their chain of command if they are recommended for promotion to captain.

The Air Force is returning to a 100 percent promotion opportunity, allowing commanders to determine if an officer should be promoted.

"Senior raters will now provide a recommendation to promote or not to promote officers. All officers will get promoted unless their senior rater makes a recommendation of "do not promote," said Lt. Col. Colin Huckins, the Promotions, Evaluations, and Fitness Policy Branch Chief.

According to senior officials, the boards are being eliminated due to the significant amount of time and financial investment for a very small quality cut, which affected few officers due to high promotion rates. The Captain's Central Selection Board rate was 95 percent.

With limited time in service, most first lieutenants have thin records and little operational experience, making it difficult to fully evaluate performance and future potential.

There will be 3,056 first lieutenants in the promotion zone and 213 above the promotion zone this year.